Airline passengers are often confined to a seat in an airplane for a large portion of a flight as they travel from one place to another. Passengers of other forms of transportation may also be confined to the seat of, for example, a train, bus, cab, or other vehicle during the trip. This experience tends to be boring and frustrating, and passengers, such as airline passengers, often attempt to pass the time with entertainment such as in-flight entertainment (IFE). IFE generally refers to media and/or activities that capture the attention of the passenger, and is included in the broader category of in-route entertainment (IRE). IFE and IRE may include newspapers, magazines, or other reading material; movies and video games; and Internet access provided to passengers during a trip. IRE may be provided to train passengers during a train ride, to taxi, limo, or bus passengers during a road trip, or to boat or cruiseline passengers during a water trip.
An example of IRE includes infrastructure-based solutions that include onboard entertainment systems consisting of seatback screens, onboard servers and routers, storage systems, and the software to run them. These entertainment systems sometimes provide movies for the passenger to view or games for the passenger to play. An informational map that shows the current location of the vehicle may also be included. In addition, shopping catalogues may be provided to passengers in the seatback pocket in front of the passenger. Satellite-based content, such as radio or television stations, may also be available to passengers. Current IRE ecosystems might include a blend of legacy infrastructure, overpriced, low quality content, and cumbersome systems. The hardware and the content are expensive, and there are few ways for advertisers to reach passengers.
Internet access is becoming increasingly available on airline flights, and is expected to become more widespread at a decreased cost in the coming years. Other modes of transportation, such as high-speed trains, are also expected to have on-board Internet access. However, flight-specific/location-specific Internet-based in-flight entertainment is not currently available. Therefore, in-flight Internet access is currently used by passengers in a manner consistent with home use.
The real-time location of an Internet user can be determined by determining the location of the Internet Protocol (IP) address that the user is using to connect to a server. The location can be determined on mobile devices (e.g., laptops, smartphones, tablet computers), noting the names (Service Set Identifier or SSID) of nearby WiFi hotspots and querying those names against a database of known hotspot names and locations. On mobile devices equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System) capabilities, the location can also be determined from the coordinates reported by the device's GPS chip. However, these methods of determining location might not be available in a moving vehicle such as a flying aircraft.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.